Search

I’m taking a break from a bout of railway mania to have a look at the death certificate of Henry GASSON (my 4x great-grandfather) which arrived a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t expecting any big surprises with this certificate, but rather to be able to confirm that I was looking at death and burial of the correct Henry GASSON.

The certificate showed that Henry GASSON a farm labourer aged 78 years died of pneumonia on the 27th November 1862 at Stable Houses, Lower Beeding, Sussex. The death was registered on the 1st December 1862 by Edward GASSON of Nuthurst, Sussex who had been present at the death.

The certificate pretty much proved I had the correct details. The age ties up with my Henry, and the place of death ties up with the burial in nearby Slaugham, Sussex where his wife had been buried. Everything seems to fit together quite neatly.

As well as proving that I was looking at the correct Henry GASSON it has also added another detail to the story of Henry’s life, that is the address in Lower Beeding. I didn’t know that Henry had spent some time in Lower Beeding, although it must only have been a brief time because in 1861 he had been living in Slaugham.

A quick bit of map research revealed the likely location of Stable Houses, Lower Beeding and it turns out that I go past it every day on the bus on my way to work. When the weather dries up a bit I might have to get off the bus on my way home and get a photo or two.

I don’t yet know whether there were any other GASSONs living in Stable Houses, and the certificate has raised another question, who was the Edward GASSON who registered the death? It is most likely that he was the son of Henry GASSON but there may well have been other Edward GASSONs around that could equally have provided the information.

All in all buying this certificate was a worthwhile investment, it has allowed me to confidently tie-up the loose ends around the death of Henry GASSON and has given me another piece of information to add to the story of Henry’s life.